Monkeyfister

Wherein Dunlap gets down to the nitty-gritty of the whole thing.




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Labels: Red State Update

... and a bunch of simple how-tos for a lot of basic preservation methods for the harvest.

Well. I really didn't think that the sudden return to hotter, more normal weather for this time of year, here in the Mid-South, would bring on yet another flush of peppers so quickly, but, as you can see, I presumed wrongly:



Last week, I had twice this many. The bunch pictured above were just blossoms, or little, tiny pinkey-sized things. A little rain, and then the heat really brought them on.

The Cayenne Peppers are in the dehydrator right now, where they will stay for 24 hours. I'm going to infuse some Olive Oil with some of them, and will grind the rest in a coffee grinder devoted to this purpose. If you grind your dried Cayenne Peppers, be SURE to wear some gloves, and a face mask, and DO NOT open the grinder immediately. Let the powder rest and settle for a while. I wear safety goggles as well. There is nothing worse than getting an eyeful of Cayenne dust. Handle ANY hot pepper with care-- and don't touch your face, or any other sensitive body part without thoroughly washing your hands first! I wash twice with soap, and then soak my fingers in vinegar or lemon juice after handling them.

Half of the Jalapenos, I am going to chop into rings, blanch for 2 minutes, spread out on a parchment-lined tray, and freeze to use later in salsa, chili, or whatever. I'm going dice and do the same thing with those little Bell Peppers. The rest of the Jalapenos I am going to pickle along with all the others, and I am going to take a guess that I'll get close to ten quarts put up. I've got plenty for the Winter, now!

Below is the growing Maitake Mushroom patch from Fungi Perfecti. It's sitting in my spare bathroom, and doing incredibly well!


I also have a big pile of beans to freeze (soaking in ice water right now), and a bunch more of my Monkeyfister's Marvel Tomatoes to process in one way or another. I think I might can some more hot salsa since I have so many Jalapenos.

One last fun thing before getting back to teh kitchen... I harvested my three giant Sunflowers today! They are on the kitchen table each in a linen flour bag that I bought at a local store. When they are dry, I'll flip them over into the bags, and shake, twist and tickle the seeds out; winnow the seeds from the other flowery bits; soak the seeds in a brine of 1/4 cup kosher salt to 1 quart of water over night, and then them for about three hours at 225-degrees for a tasty snack through the fall. Each flower is about 18" across, and there are a LOT of seeds per flower.

Plenty to do. Plenty to do.

UPDATE-- After five hours in the kitchen, I now have: Three quart bags of frozen Jalapeno rings, seven quarts of mixed pickled Hungarian/Sweet Bananas, and two quarts of pickled Jalapenos. No salsa. I'm wrung out. Time to do some laundry and watch Heroes on iTunes. Tomorrow, I'll freeze those Tomatoes, and infuse some Olive Oil for Christmas gifts.



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Labels: Food, Food Preservation, Food Security, Freezing Food, Gardening, Pickled Peppers, Sunflower Seeds

This past ten days, I've been deluged with what is looking like the final harvest for a good chunk of my garden. The Pole Beans continue to produce in mighty quantities, and my needs met for the winter, I've been providing two-days servings of organic string beans for a family of four every two days. I can hardly keep up with the volunteer "Monkeyfister's Marvel" Tomato plant. With that monster plant, I am freezing two quarts every two days. I have a total of 40 quarts of frozen tomatoes, and another 20 quarts of canned, so off to the Food Bank for the rest.

OH! Speaking of the Mutant Tomato, I took a substantial cutting over to my friend, Tomato Girl. She was puzzled, too, and very impressed by the taste of the couple of ripe ones I brought. She, and her husband, both agreed they'd never seen anything like it, but it sure is good! They are going to research a bit for me. Personally, I think I have something fun and new, and obviously disease resistant.

Peppers flushed-out all at once this past week, and well, it takes time to pickle peppers. The Hungarians and the Sweet Bananas are coming in all at once this week, and three nights of this week have been canning peppers. Last week it was all the Jalapenos, and the last of the Cucumbers. The Cayennes are coming in well, as well as the Thai Dragon peppers. I am stringing them up and hanging them in the attic to dry.

The Cucumbers were out of control this past two weeks. They got to that stage where, by gum, I'm gonna produce a big, ripe fruit no matter what," stage. In the morning, a cuke would be the dimensions of my pinkey, and by 5pm, it would be fat and yellow. I have all the pickles that I need. Even plenty for gifts this year. The vines get composted on Friday, and the parsley, dill, nasturtiums and carrots I planted under them, are finally getting some good sun. They'll do great over winter.

I took the time to take the Hunter's Safety Course, and get registered to hunt the deer where I work. The place is thoroughly fenced, and the deer herd is over 125. For the acreage, that is a problem for the workplace and the deer, so, they are having an archery-only lottery to hunt deer in specific, secured ares in order to cull them down. I see them every morning by my office when I arrive in the morning. I also got my licenses for regular hunting for the year. ching! Had to get new insurance for the vehicles... ching!

And then, on the fun side:
Spent Saturday and Sunday with my hunting buddies, and their families. Camped in great weather for this time of year in the Mid-South. Saturday night, we made 100 .308 hunting/shooting bullets for each of the four of us. We shot skeet as well. Sunday morning, we went out to a huge, flat sod field, and spent the time to get our hunting rifles sighted in to 400 yards with a 4" grouping (4" from "center" bullet hole). That was tough with my light gun, but I am there now. We tried three rounds of three shots at 500 yards. I was hopeless. My Tikka T3 is simply too light. My pulse in my cheek pushes the gun around too much. I put four out of nine shots simply on the paper. Only two shots were within 4 inches of my target. Randy let me shoot his new CZ 545, which is much heavier, bull barrel, and simply more stable. I put three within 4 inches one after the other. All that said, we are typically hunting deer between 100 and 300 yards. Knowing that I am a competent shot well beyond that means much to me. Merciful kills, and a bountiful hunting season.

Last night, I took my crossbow over to a repair guy that my co-worker, Frank, turned me on to. His place is waaaay out in the boonies. This guy is a Master Craftsman to see in action, but you'd never get him to say as much. Humble, funny, font of anecdotal knowledge, time for everyone, quick with a good story... "Oh! You're a Disabled Veteran and work in Millington. My Dad was a Disabled Navy Veteran, and let me tell you..." Master Craftsman/Bard(Level 18).

At any rate, for $100 he's going to fix all the goofy things that broke on it over the past two years, re-string and lube it, and replace the limb bumpers. Basically, a premium tune-up. As soon as he took the crossbow in his hand, and heard the rattle in the rail, he said, "So, you dry fired it, eh? You shouldn't do that." I was contrite and immediately humbled. I told him how I heard my two friends shout, "NOOOOOOO" in slow motion as it happened. and then the rattle... He said it will be ready by Monday. But, he wants me to have time to sight it in again on his range. Like new again, and ready to hunt when I walk out his door. That's life in the Rural Network.

The next commitment...

The Budding Food Bank:
Things are going well. Every couple nights, this is where my time has gone. Lots of work and good things happening. Grants and donations are trickling in, and we keep adding a bit as we can muster. We're hoping beyond hope to be able to have the big refers and the freezer in and running (we don't have the money for them just yet), and the meat area approved before hunting season, so that we can take advantage of the venison. Deer Archery season starts on the 26th of September. I don't think it will happen, and am advocating a "less that official" tack on providing venison to hungry families. As the season comes on, and we can't process the deer, My proposal was for hunters and those involved with the Food Bank to "drop the rumor (with directions or phone #)" that Hunter Pete and Hunter Joe, and Hunter Jim each might have some venison to share with folks in the community, and then step away. We can't sanction that, but the laws are funny in that it's legal. They are debating it, and we have have great Lawyers. My point is this: If Hunters are hunting simply to help feed others, who are we to not lead the hungry to them, if the Hunters so wish it?

At any rate, we have the area for dry goods all set up and approved and operating. Rice, Beans, Canned Goods (from my Kroger-- yeah!), Baby Formula, paper products, whatever we get in. We have six regular refrigerators filled with butter, milk and locally raised vegetables. My personal push is to get the kitchen all set up and approved along with the Meat area. We have two gas stove/ovens, the three-stop sink, tables, shelves, and restrooms... we're just waiting for the money for the grease trap, range hood and fire suppression to come in. Being able to use surplus food to DIRECTLY feed the hungry is a very good policy as a Food Bank attached to a (non-denominational) church. When I was a young lad starving my way through college, I caught wind of a "missionary outreach program" of the local hare Krishnas. Now, I didn't care much for the Hares, but every Saturday afternoon at 4pm, they put out one hell of a vegan spread for the cost of a donation of your choosing, and you had to stay for a reading from the Vedas and the Gita, and a Hare Sermon. They sent any who expressed hunger home with a pile of leftovers. Two bucks for two hours of Hareblahblah, and a damned fine meal and a sack of leftovers? Yeah... I was SO Hare Krishna for exactly two hours once a week, and gimme that food. If I was that way in my hungry years, I can suspect that there are plenty of hungry folks in this area in the same need. Kevin can have his hour of good sermonizing-- he's a really decent guy with a calling in his heart; he refuses a political ideology, and demands "no politics" while on the premises, he has a Doctorate of Theology. He was raised Methodist, but decided to simply be a Reverend of Universal Life Church-- I am ALSO a Reverend of Universal Life Church-- Surprise! But, honestly, you can also be a Reverend of ULC, absolutely legal to "marry and bury," as they say, in all fifty states and the territories, by going here: Universal Life Church. The SCOTUS approved it as official and Legal.

Anyway... Our money people are doing a fine job of getting cash and goods, it's just a matter of getting it all put in place, now, and BOY, do we need the to big Main Refers and a freezer. It does seem like every time I drop in, there is a new pile of stuff for the full project.

So, there. I'm alive and well, but caught off-guard by a surprising amount of stuff to address. Of the Summer Garden, just about anything else that I get from it is going to the 'bank.

The Seasons are changing down here in the Mid-South, and it is time to turn the Winter Garden, Composting and Hunting. And sex, I suppose.



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Labels: My Life As It Is